California sees highest temperature ever recorded on Earth

Experts will examine the heat reading taken at a weather station in California “in detail” ahead of any possible verification

Temperature highs of 54.4C (129.9F) have been taken at Furnace Creek in Death Valley, California, during an intense heatwave in the West coast state, in what could potentially be the hottest temperature reading ever that has been reliably recorded on the planet.

One of the United States National Weather Service’s automated stations at Furnace Creek in Death Valley recorded the extreme temperatures at 3.41pm on Sunday.

The National Weather Service verified that it would be the hottest weather recorded since 56.6C (134F) had registered at the same place on the 10th of July in 1913.

This comes after three people are now believed to have tragically died after a train derailment in Aberdeenshire, with one person currently unaccounted for, following storms occurring in the area. Torrential rain, as well as thunderstorms across the country, have caused a great deal of flooding and travel disruption across many areas within of central and eastern Scotland.

The temperature reading that occurred in 1913 officially stand to be the hottest taken on the planet’s surface; however, the accuracy of this reading has long been disputed by climate experts.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) categorised the reading from 1913 as the Earth’s hottest climate temperature after an investigation dismissed an apparent temperature of 58C (136F), which had reportedly been recorded in Libya in the September of 1922.

Another older reading of 55C (131F) that was recorded in Tunisia in July of 1931 had also been challenged.

In addition, the 1913 Death Valley heat recording has been referred to as “essentially not possible from a meteorological perspective”.

Some experts also believe that the modern readings of 54C (129F) from Death Valley on the 30th of June 2013 and in Kuwait in 2016 and Pakistan in 2017 are likely to be the most reliable top temperatures on the planet that had been recorded.

But this still means that Sunday’s extreme temperatures at Death Valley, California could see the heat conditions named as officially the hottest temperatures ever recorded.

As the temperatures at Furnace Creek soared, humidity in the area fell to just 7%. Death Valley is close to California’s border with the state of Nevada, which is the driest and hottest location in the whole of the US.

This comes after thunderstorms are moving across many areas within the UK, after some areas have seen the longest stretch of high temperatures since the 60s in many regions of England, Wales and parts of Northern Ireland, as well as in south-west Scotland.

Professor Randy Cerveny leads a WMO group which archives climate extremes and believes Sunday’s recording is “legitimate”.

In an email to the Washington Post, he wrote:

“Everything I’ve seen so far indicates that is a legitimate observation.”

“I am recommending that the World Meteorological Organisation preliminarily accept the observation.”

“In the upcoming weeks, we will, of course, be examining it in detail, along with the US National Climate Extremes Committee, using one of our international evaluation teams.”